Suwon to Siheung perfectly encapsulates the enormous gulf to K3 | OneFootball

The early rounds of national cup competitions always offer a unique opportunity to compare clubs with vastly different resources, history, success, and tradition compete for the same prize. The Korean Cup is no different and due to Suwon Bluewings' second round tie moved to midweek, it allowed to me to check in on defending K3 champions Siheung Citizen and attend both matches.

It is fair to say the Korean Cup doesn't get the interest it deserves. Only the early rounds (before the top flight teams enter) are held at the weekend to maximize attendances and allow visiting fans to attend. By the time round three rolls around in mid-April, all matches until the final will be moved to Wednesday nights. Who wants that?

If that isn't a clear sign of the general apathy towards a tournament that affords the victors ACL qualification, seeing the early round line ups certainly is. Seongnam FC were unrecognizable from the team that has ploughed its way from the bottom of K League 2 in 2024 to top this campaign. Seoul E-Land made the short trip south to Big Bird and changed 10 of the starting 11 beaten by Incheon United the previous weekend. It isn't until the clubs reach the latter stages does that change. By then, dozens will already have been eliminated but perhaps they could have made it to the quarters and beyond had they taken the earlier rounds more seriously?

Last season I saw struggling Seongnam FC knock out Chungbuk Cheongju on penalties in Tancheon. Cheongju were comfortably the better team but once the game went to extra time, it was obvious that the limited hosts were keen to see this one go to penalties. That's what happened, and their gamble paid off. Afterwards I spoke to English striker Nathan Oduwa. Naturally he was disappointed with the elimination and yet it genuinely felt like they weren't too bothered. Cheongju would go on to have a very disappointing season, struggling to cope with key losses from the previous winter. Maybe a cup run would have served them well?

Despite the universal shoulder shrugging to Korea's premier knock out competition, there are always some interesting locations and grounds to tick off when the draw is originally made. Round two is the starting point for the K League 2 clubs. Their introduction allows semi-pro sides like Chuncheon FC enjoy a special day out at Incheon United, recently relegated, butoccupants of the best football-specific stadium in the land.

And thanks to the KFA's decision to move Suwon Samsung vs. Seoul E-Land from a weekend slot to the previous Wednesday, I could taste the second round buzz from two locations with absolutely nothing in common other than the HANABANK KOREAN CUP tarping around the stadium walls. The meeting of Busan Transportation and Busan IPark was the stand-out fixture of the round, but not wanting to venture too far so early in the year, I decided to check out how Siheung Citizen are progressing in their recently redeveloped home ground.

Siheung are defending K3 champions. Despite playing all of 2024 in a small park buried deep in an industrial wasteland, they pipped Hwaseong FC (now in K League 2) and Gyeongju KHNP by two points. That first place finish came after successive years of progress since earning promotion from K4 in 2021. There have even been murmurings about turning fully professional and following in the footsteps of Gimpo FC, Hwaseong, Cheongju, and Cheonan City into the second tier.

Home players emerge from the dressing room before Saturday's FA Cup clash with Seongnam FC.

Should that dream become a reality, Siheung will need to find a better home. Jeongwang Stadium is a basic, single stand multi-purpose arena close to Incheon. The outer walls are partially decorated with a team photo and the 2025 fixture list, but nothing else about this screams professional football. There is talk of a new stadium in the works but Siheung are locked into Jeongwang for the foreseeable future.

The vast majority of the 1,500 attendance comes from that single stand. The home fans sit on the left side with the visiting Seongnam FC fans, from K League 2, on the right side. It is worth remembering that Seongnam finished bottom of K League 2, so only one place above Siheung. Had the football pyramid been completely open, these two clubs would have changed places this year.

In between the two sets of supporters is a large media/VIP section featuring wooden steps, desks, and tables. The commentary team sat to my right with this game broadcast for free on the KFA's website. The two men wore black suits with black ties, as if they were attending a funeral. On the street level below, a small tent was erected to sell merchandise. Behind the goal to the left, 50 or so hardcore fans congregate on the running track waving the only flag.

Opposite the sole permanent structure at Jeongwang, cars and trucks zipped by on the Pyeongtaek-Siheung Expressway. Separating the highway from the green fence surrounding the stadium is a small, elevated nature spot. From here, over 100 fans of both teams and interested bystanders could watch the match as the seats within the grounds were sold out. Rising above are electrical cables and several pylons in the distance, slicing through the blue skies in this heavily industrialized part of Gyeonggi-do.

It certainly made for a cool spectacle with numerous points of interest.

The match itself was better than I had expected. Siheung are clearly a good team and they deservedly qualified for the 3rd round after a hard fought win against superior opposition. The game ended 2-2 after 90 minutes, stayed that way in extra time, before Siheung converted five of six penalties to go through. All this with 10 men after losing a man in the 83rd minute. This wasn't the only cup shock on Saturday and perhaps the K3 clubs are closing the gap.

Looking back on this tie compared to what went before it on Wednesday was fascinating. Suwon Bluewings hosted Seoul E-Land on a very cold but clear Wednesday night. The frigid air made it difficult to type late in the game as we approached 10 pm. The wind blowing over the main stand, behind where we sat in the media section, contributed to an uncomfortable evening. Thankfully the match was very fun. Siheung, by contrast, kicked off at 2 pm on a warm Saturday afternoon.

The tunnel in Suwon two hours before the midweek cup game between the K League 2 rivals.

Suwon prevailed 2-1 against opposition they had never previously beaten. And whilst Siheung were bringing on Kim Nam-seong and Kim Ho-sin to see out their 2-1 lead, Suwon were calling on Stanislav Iljutcenko and Bruno Silva to finally see off the challenge of Seoul E-Land. Their line up already included former Korean international full back Lee Ki-jae and Kwon Wan-kyu, with over 200 K League appearances to his name.

That cup tie was played at the Suwon World Cup Stadium, the 44,000 capacity ground that'll host Korea's vital 2026 qualifier with Jordan next week. It has previously staged underage FIFA World Cup finals, Korean Cup finals, and AFC Champions League games. Jeongwang would be fortunate to host a local track and field event. And yet on Saturday, Siheung Citizen, with their meagre resources and moderate facilities, were competing at the same stage as former K League and AFC champions, Suwon Bluewings. That both teams won made it even sweeter.

At Big Bird on Wednesday, the assembled media were treated to a dosirak, cup ramen, bottles of water and, after the match, slices of pizza and cans of Pepsi. In Jeongwang, we got a paper cup of sugary coffee. Suwon's victory was aired on Sky Sports, available across the country. There were food trucks out front and huge lines for the club store, two hours before kick off. The two stadiums are separated by 33 km of mostly dense, south Gyeonggi-do urban sprawl and industrial infrastructure, but in football terms, they aren't even in the same universe.

And yet, Siheung will join Suwon in the third round. Suwon travel to K League 1 high-fliers Gimcheon Sangmu while Siheung will be back at home to face either Hwaseong FC or Jinju Citizen. Despite the enormous gulf between the two clubs, they remain, for now at least, on the same path chasing the same goal. That's thebeauty of the cup